WAG What to expect at Level 10

[Muddlethru]

This coming season my daughter is highly likely going to move up to L10. I am excited to see her compete at the highest JO competitive level but I am also a little apprehensive. My daughter had her first overuse injury last year. So injuries MAY be more of an issue. I also noticed scores are more erratic. From L4 to L8 scores from meet to meet may vary by very tiny fractions only. At L9, I guess because of the increased difficulty, the incidence of mishaps are higher. They can get a 9.5 one meet and fall once or even twice at another meet and score at 8.2. Likelihood of falls seems more likely. So, I am certain these will not change in L10. But does anyone have any tips, warnings, suggestions, experiences they want to share? What did/do you love about L10, dislike, would change, would want to see more of? Would love to hear any and all.

 

[Deleted member 14190]

get ready for more falls on bars,

 

[gymmomof1]

Probably the best place to get some info would be the level 10 social group. They have a seasoned parent at the helm-Granny Smith so pm her.

 

[ARKGYMMOM]

Good Luck and a HUGE congrats for making it this far! Enjoy the ride

 

[gymmomof1]

get ready for more falls on bars,

Yea even L9 I'm finding that out. I use to enjoy watching Dds on bars until this year .

 

[BachFlyer]

Just my take, but seems like the judges take every.single.possible deduction and those 9.5s are a little more elusive. The youngest girls are no longer the highest scorers on average (age groups are bigger and obviously lots of repeaters that don't age out of your group!). Every meet felt intense, instead of just the championship season. And many more falls that make the spectators audibly gasp! Ugh.

 

[MeetDirector]

Repeat after me - "Don't watch practice". This level (and the 2 before) really involve some intense training (if done correctly) and the amount of effort that is required is phenomenal. The skills are much harder and getting those 10.0 SVs means they have to have the big skills. Don't watch the training of those skills.

Level 10 brings with it a sense of reaching the top; when you think about it, there really aren't that many level 10's in the country when compared to the lower levels. Reaching level 10 and surviving and doing well are a cause for celebration; these girls are amazing at this level. Enjoy your dd's success and make sure you get good videos (from the side I am told) for the college coaches to see.

Good Luck.

 

[Muddlethru]

Probably the best place to get some info would be the level 10 social group. They have a seasoned parent at the helm-Granny Smith so pm her.

I'm already in that social group....very quiet! I guess one more thing to expect is parents are no longer as fanatic!

 

[Muddlethru]

get ready for more falls on bars,

Great. One thing to look forward to. I am assuming those single bar releases are the culprit!

 

[MeetDirector]

Remember too, by this time the parents are survivors and know what to get excited about and what not to get excited about.

I forgot to mention Beam. Level 10 beam is tough; to get the higher start value means connecting tougher acro skills or leaps. Beam burns are common.

I would also suggest that if you haven't already, invest in some good ice packs or cold compression wraps. Multiple body parts may need to be iced at the same time.

 

[gymmomof1]

I'm already in that social group....very quiet! I guess one more thing to expect is parents are no longer as fanatic!

Lol oh well then hopefully you can get some feedback here.

 

[Granny Smith]

Realize that, with the exception of vault, every routine now starts at 9.5 and the girls have to build up through bonus to the 10.0 SV. I think this also plays a big part in the scores being all over the place. Plus you have 1st 10s, who tend to have basic L10 routines, possibly competing against seasoned L10s or drop back elites who have 10.0 SV on every event. If she is really young, she will compete against many girls who are probably trying to go elite and if she is older she is competing against girls who have been 10 for years or the drop back elite, many who are committed to schools with scholarships. Not saying this happens all the time, but I think 10 has a huge range of competition within it.

 

[Granny Smith]

The L10 group might be a quiet group, but if you ask a question, you will get an answer and usually it's a good one. You might not get a response the minute you ask the question, that is true, but if you do ask the question, you will get an answer.

 

[Muddlethru]

Realize that, with the exception of vault, every routine now starts at 9.5 and the girls have to build up through bonus to the 10.0 SV. I think this also plays a big part in the scores being all over the place. Plus you have 1st 10s, who tend to have basic L10 routines, possibly competing against seasoned L10s or drop back elites who have 10.0 SV on every event. If she is really young, she will compete against many girls who are probably trying to go elite and if she is older she is competing against girls who have been 10 for years or the drop back elite, many who are committed to schools with scholarships. Not saying this happens all the time, but I think 10 has a huge range of competition within it.

Thanks. This seems like an aspect of L10 which makes doing well a lot more difficult than all the other levels. It was a long climb to L10. I get the feeling L10 is a whole different ball game and that we are again starting from the basics.

 

[Muddlethru]

The L10 group might be a quiet group, but if you ask a question, you will get an answer and usually it's a good one. You might not get a response the minute you ask the question, that is true, but if you do ask the question, you will get an answer.

Don't get me wrong. I actually LOVE the L10 group. I appreciate the lack of drama and trivialities. But I also wanted to get coaches opinions. That is why I posted in the main board. Being "quiet" is a great thing for me. I've posted questions in the L10 private group and I concur, responses have been more than helpful.

 

[bookworm]

well let's see, having been at Level 10 meets since 2005 with either of my daughters, I'd say the expectations for that level have changed throughout the years.....way back when (defined as in the 2005 era), girls didn't move to 10 unless they had gone to Easterns/Westerns and had decent competency on every event for the most part ...in the past several years, I have noticed girls being moved to 10 with a mediocre level 9 season (sometimes no regionals even) or being moved to 10 "for their Sr year" without the required skills of the level. When you pair these girls with the girls who have been 10s for years, they get killed unfortunately...

You will see the gamut of skills and of late, there have been a lot of big skills being thrown....years back you rarely saw more than a Yurchenko full, but now the 1 1/2 is being done more frequently....a lot more full ins and arabians on floor ( and not just by the drop back elites).

I guess I'd expect her to be competitive if they are moving her up. Even with basic 10 skills, she should be able to score in the 35 AA range...

 

[Muddlethru]

Actually, my daughter did not have a great L9 season. It started of pretty decent. It seemed like she was progressing nicely. However, she had an overuse injury by mid Feb. This sidelined her progress and she was not able to have any regular practice leading up to regionals.

They were considering moving her up to L10 last season but because we were new to the gym and she only competed two L9 meets the previous season, they had her repeat L9. I guess, barring any injuries this season, if she repeated again L9, she could potentially have a really great season. She is on the younger side, so she'll still have many years in L10.

But I think repeating another year of L9 does not ensure a more prepared L10 season. Our current gym only practices skills applicable to the current season. Last summer, my daughter was doing many L10 skills that she could consistently do 7 out of 10. She was very upset when they removed it from her routines at the very first meet because they wanted her to use skills she did 10 times out of 10 and she did not need those other skills in her L9 routine (I also have been in gymnastics long enough to know 10 out of 10 at practice does not equate to 10 out of 10 during meets and 7 out of 10 during practice could still produce a hit at all the meets). I see the rationale but at the same time I also saw how this did not help her prepare for L10. There is no up training at all during the season. So throughout the entire L9 season, she was only allowed to practice her L10 skills if she had extra time during practice, which was very rare if not non existent. So, she again just started doing them this month. Her beam skills were again brought down to the low beam. So, honestly, don't see how repeating L9 will benefit her except she may make nationals. But I hear college coaches do not even look at L9. I think she could be ready for L10 and scoring a 35AA is something to aspire for towards the end of the season. Does moving to L10 make sense?

 

[bookworm]

A. But I think repeating another year of L9 does not ensure a more prepared L10 season.

B. But I hear college coaches do not even look at L9.

C. I think she could be ready for L10 and scoring a 35AA is something to aspire for towards the end of the season. Does moving to L10 make sense?[/QUOTE]

Point A: if there's no uptraining, then you're right but coming off a weaker level 9 season as described be prepared for some rough outings....my point on the moving from 9 to 10 without going to Regionals at least is that you never really saw it before , not that it couldn't happen, and that girls who by history of going to Regionals and Easterns/Westerns would have a stronger 10 start because they were coming off a stronger 9 end...

Point B: depends on the Division and school...I don't think a solid D1 program would scholarship a Level 9 athlete...but say, Rhode Island College or Ursinus (D3) , they do have Level 9 athletes on their teams...

Point C: It only makes sense if she's ready...and number of years in one level does not make one "ready" for the next. There are some girls that will never get beyond Level 8, no matter how many years they do gymnastics and that's ok. I think it's disheartening when a gymnast moves up to a level they're not ready for and although they compete to the best of their ability, they're just not up to the level....and i think it's also discouraging to the gymnast as well

 

[esor]

Repeat after me - "Don't watch practice". This level (and the 2 before) really involve some intense training (if done correctly) and the amount of effort that is required is phenomenal. The skills are much harder and getting those 10.0 SVs means they have to have the big skills. Don't watch the training of those skills.

Level 10 brings with it a sense of reaching the top; when you think about it, there really aren't that many level 10's in the country when compared to the lower levels. Reaching level 10 and surviving and doing well are a cause for celebration; these girls are amazing at this level. Enjoy your dd's success and make sure you get good videos (from the side I am told) for the college coaches to see.

Good Luck.

This is great advice - my DD is going level 8 this year and I have just realized that I can't watch practice anymore. She is young, and our only child, so I felt justified watching practice whenever I could because I wouldn't see her much otherwise. But I realize now how tough it is as a mom to watch practice now, on so many levels. It is good to hear this from others on how difficult it is to watch the training of harder skills. I can't imagine how much tougher it will be a L10 if it's this tough now - good thing there isa a place to talk about all of this!

 

[Muddlethru]

I too do not watch practice and only know what my daughter and her coach tell me. I would love for my daughter to do well on her first year as L10 but her coach is not a seasoned or experienced veteran and I also do not know my daughter's abilities or limitations. I am just excited to go to L10 meets. Winning is not an aspiration at the moment. Just getting the big skills and doing it safely the entire season is good enough for me.